


neon lights and claw games

by sunhyucked



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Arcades, M/M, Mentions Of Puke, Plushies, johnny just really loves rilakkuma, side jaewoo, side nohyuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-17 18:43:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18104228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunhyucked/pseuds/sunhyucked
Summary: au where all johnny does is go to the arcade to play claw games and win literally all of the rilakkuma plushies and taeil who works at the arcade is salty bc this cute boy keeps winning the plushies he tries to win on his off days





	neon lights and claw games

**Author's Note:**

> for my half decent sister, katrina

     "I swear to god, man. This is the third time you have dragged us in here this week. You need to calm the fuck down." Doyoung groans as he enters the colorfully lit building, following closely behind a slightly frazzled Jungwoo and a smiling Johnny. Johnny ignores the little comment at the end and continues on down the rows of bright machines, a backpack hanging off of one shoulder. Doyoung wasn't entirely wrong. It was the third time all three of them had been in the arcade that week, but it wasn't the third time he had been in at all. It was actually the fifth, but he wouldn't dare tell them that. He had grown used to Doyoung's little comments whenever they came. Besides, he knew Doyoung enjoyed coming just as much as him. He stopped in front of one of the many claw machines towards the back of the building. The backpack fell to the ground as he fished his wallet out of his back pocket. Jungwoo did the same and positioned himself in front of the machine to the right. 

 

     "I'm gonna get it this time." Jungwoo says quietly before slipping a coin into the slot. More lights lit up as a mechanical whir began to come from the large contraption. Doyoung looked at Johnny and raised an eyebrow. Johnny only shook his head. The thing about Jungwoo is he didn't exactly have a knack for these types of games. In fact, he was kind of terrible at them. Johnny might have spent at least a hundred dollars on these things, but at least he had something to show for it. Jungwoo just had the empty wallet. After watching him for a few minutes, it became clear that today probably wouldn't be the day to change that. "Trust me guys, I'm going to do it."

 

     "Okay, Woo. I believe in you." Johnny told him before giving him a slight pat on the back. He felt his heart warm at the small smile that formed on Jungwoo's lips. Doyoung stepped to the other side of the tallest man and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

     "John, don't give him false hope." He told him before leaning forward to peek at Jungwoo who now had his tongue poking out just slightly. 

 

     "I'm not giving him false hope, Doyo. I really do believe in him. Today could very well be the day he wins a bunch." Johnny said as he inserted the coin into his own machine. This one came to life with flashing lights and bells dinging. Johnny grinned as he grabbed the joystick. He found himself slipping into an all too familiar rhythm. His eyes flitted back and forth between the claw and the desired plushie. Once he was sure he was in a good position, he pressed the blinking red button. The claw lowered and grasped for the small yellow duck below it. It successfully got a firm grip on it and lifted it up before moving to the small open square in the front corner. It released the duck and Johnny bent down to pull it from the slot.

     "You go it on your first try." Jungwoo said, slightly amazed. Johnny turned to him and watched as his claw lowered and grabbed at a few plush objects before rising back up carrying nothing. Feeling a bit bad, Johnny held it out for Jungwoo to take. He did and looked it over a few times. "Thanks, hyung."

 

     "No problem. All the rest are going into the collection." Johnny added as he focused his attention back onto the machine in front of him. It only took him an hour or two before the backpack was filled with an assortment of rilakkuma bears.

 

 

 

     'Take a job at the arcade' they said. 'It'll be fun surrounded by all of the games' they said. Okay, it certainly wasn't all that bad for Taeil. At least it wasn't that bad until he got stuck cleaning up some child's vomit. He really wished parents would stop letting their children gorge themselves on greasy pizza and sugary sodas before allowing them to run around and play games. He scrubbed at his hands a few times after dropping off the mop and bucket in the back. He took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't look too bad. Besides the puke, today had been a relatively laid-back day. There was only one party for the day and now that they were gone, he could relax behind the counter. He straightened his back, put on his friendliest smile, and walked out of the restroom. He scanned a few of the games for any faults as he walked to the front. As soon as he got to the counter, someone bounded over to him. 

 

     "I wasn't sure if you were working today. I'm glad you are." Donghyuck said, a bright smile painted across his face. He picked up one of the shitty laminated menus on the counter.

 

     "Just until 5. What's up, kid?" Taeil asked as he looked at the shelves in search for a rag. Whoever worked the counter before him clearly didn't wipe it down and the sticky rings of dried soda and assorted tomato substances grossed him out. Donghyuck frowned before putting the menu back on top of the stack. 

 

     "I'm not a kid, ya know? I'm an adult. I'm gonna be graduating this year." He really seemed to hate it whenever Taeil ever called him 'kid'.

 

     "You're a child but whatever. Small water?" Taeil asked. He knew he didn't need to. It was always the same with Donghyuck. He'd scan the menu but he rarely got more than a glass of water. When he nodded, Taeil went over to the soda machine tucked behind the low half-wall. The ice clanked into the plastic cup as it changed from a bright sky blue to a deep purple. It turned nearly completely purple as the water began to fill it. Taeil handed it to Donghyuck who gave him a little smile.

 

     "Blue and purple, my favorite." Donghyuck told him as he ripped the paper wrapper off of a straw. He stuck it in the cup and took a sip. "You've been giving me the pink and green ones lately."

 

     "I just grab the first cup here." Taeil insisted. That wasn't entirely true though. He'd be lying if he said he didn't occasionally slip a pink cup to Donghyuck just to hear him complain about how disgusting of a shade of green it turned when cold. 'If you're going to make your cups change color in colder temperatures, at least don't give me some shit green. Neon green would have been nice. This is just some ugly mix between hunter and forest green. Tragic.' Taeil couldn't argue though. He wasn't exactly pleasantly surprised when he first saw it. "So what's going on. How's theater?" 

 

     "Stressful. Opening night is in a few weeks so everyone is just getting more and more nervous. How's puke duty?" He asked before taking another sip.

 

     "Oh, it's absolutely delightful. It was especially green today. Kind of like the cups." Taeil said which caused Donghyuck to shudder before setting the cup down, a blue hand print on the side. He looked over at the door as he heard the small bell chime above it. In walked three guys. They were regulars, in all of the time. The last of them was thin with dark hair falling onto his forehead. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a rather unimpressed look on his face. He always did whenever they came in. The guy in front of him had a mop a fluffy blonde hair atop his head. He must have dyed it recently too because the last time Taeil saw him it was a light shade of brown. He wore a bright smile, his eyes wide as he looked around at all of the games. The guy in the front of them was tall. He was almost freakishly tall. It's not that Taeil was small exactly, but he looked like a child compared to this guy. He had dark brown hair that he was constantly pushing out of his eyes and a black and green backpack thrown over his shoulder.

 

     "Hyung? Earth to Taeil? Helloooo?" Donghyuck teased. Taeil snapped out of his small trance and looked back at the high schooler in front of him. "You act like those guys aren't in here all of the time."

 

     "I was just observing that the one in the middle dyed his hair." Taeil said before wiping the counter down again. Donghyuck laughed.

 

     "Yes, Jungwoo hyung dyed his hair. So, why were your eyes glued to Johnny hyung?" Taeil felt his cheeks heat up.

 

     "I don't know what you're talking about. And you know them?" Taeil asked. He never thought of the chance of Donghyuck knowing them. He seemed too young.

 

     "Yeah. Jungwoo hyung is dating Jaehyun, Mark's stepbrother. They pick him up from rehearsals sometimes." Donghyuck said before taking another sip of water. "Well i'm gonna go DDR my heart out."

 

     Taeil watched the boy turn and walk into the jungle of games.

 

 

 

     Johnny pushed and pushed on the small fluff filled toys and tried to tug the zipper of his backpack shut. Nothing seemed to want to stay in the damn thing. When he got it nearly all the way shut, he slipped it onto his back and turned to Jungwoo. Jungwoo fiddled with the small yellow duck in his hands. He hadn't been nearly as lucky as Johnny and would have left empty handed if Johnny hadn't given the duck to him. 

 

     "You ready, Woo?" He asked. Doyoung had left not too long ago, muttering something about a waste of money and being late for work. Jungwoo nodded and followed Johnny before stopping.

 

     "Wait. I have to use the bathroom." He pushed the duck into Johnny's hands and looked directly into his eyes. With an overly intense serious look, he told him, "Don't let anything happen to him while I'm gone," before giving him a smile and turning to walk to the restrooms. 

 

     "I'll be waiting in the front!" Johnny called after him as he walked away. He weaved his way through the machines and towards the front door, looking at the squishy duck. Suddenly he heard a small pop and a quiet chuckle before feeling something hit the back of his leg. He slipped the backpack off of his shoulders and looked it over. One of the zippers was broken and there were 10-15 plushies on the ground behind him. His eyes widened and his cheeks grew red as he got onto his knees to pick up the small creatures. He heard the quiet laugh getting a bit louder before someone bent down to pick up the small things with him. The other person set a black plastic bag between them. There was no way these were going to stay in that backpack anymore. After all of the toys had been picked up, they stood. 

 

     "You know, you're in here all of the time and I never knew why. I gotta say, not exactly what I expected." The other person told him, holding out the bag. Johnny forced a nervous laugh before scratching the back of his neck.

 

     "This is a little embarrassing. Thank you. I'll bring in a bigger bag next time." Johnny told him. He _finally_ looked the guy in the face and his cheeks got almost impossibly redder.

 

     "No problem. And maybe a bigger bag isn't what you need, but rather less plushies." 

 

     "How dare you?" Johnny asked, faking an offended expression. He held out his hand. "I'm Johnny." The other guy took it before giving it a shake.

 

     "Taeil."

 

     "Johnny, where is my son?" Jungwoo asked, jogging over. Johnny pulled it out of the bag and handed it to him.

 

     "Well, Taeil. It was nice meeting you. Hopefully next time we meet it won't be because I dropped all of my plushies." Johnny told the small man.

 

     "You dropped him?" Jungwoo asked, his eyes growing wide. Johnny threw an arm over Jungwoo's shoulders and walked out of the building with him. Taeil laughed and walked back behind the counter. Sometime during that fiassco, Donghyuck had returned and he was now sipping his water, a grin on his face.

 

     "Look at you. Grandpa still has it, huh?" He teased.

 

     "Shut it, kid."

**Author's Note:**

> hah im so sorry katrina anyway follow my sister on [ twitter](https://twitter.com/briqades) she posts her art sometimes


End file.
